David Alan Corbin

Historian - Author - Lecturer

No person was involved in so much history and yet received so little attention
as Robert C. Byrd, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history.

"I thank David for putting this book together about my good friend and former colleague."

Senator Howard Baker (R-TN),former Senate majority leader

"This is an important story that needed to be told, and David tells it so well."

Senator George Mitchell (D-ME),former Senate majority leader

"David Corbin does a superb job of telling this important American story."

James A. Haught,editor, Charleston (WV) Gazette

The Last Great Senator

Robert C. Byrd's Encounters with Eleven U.S. Presidents

In The Last Great Senator, David A. Corbin examines Byrd's complex and fascinating relationships
with eleven presidents of the United States, from Eisenhower to Obama. Furthermore, Byrd
had an impact on nearly every major event of the last half century, including the Cold
War, Kennedy's New Frontier, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, the Watergate
scandal, the Reagan Revolution, the impeachment of President Clinton, and the war in Iraq.
Holding several Senate records, Byrd also casted more votes than any other U.S. senator.

In his sweeping portrait of the man's epic life and career, Corbin introduces Senator Byrd
and his background in the coalfields of southern West Virginia (including his brief membership
in the Ku Klux Klan). He covers Byrd's encounters and personal relationship with each president
and his effect on events during the administrations. Additionally, the book discusses Byrd's
interactions with other notable senators, including Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Russell, Mike Mansfield,
and especially Robert and Edward Kennedy.

Going beyond the boundaries of West Virginia and Capitol Hill, The Last Great
Senator presents Byrd in a larger historical context, where he rose to the height
of power in America.

"In my Senate leadership lecture on July 14, 1998, I discussed how Sen. Robert Byrd and I made an agreement to work together to make the Senate operate smoothly and productively. ‘It was an agreement,’ I said, that ‘we never broke, not once in the eight years we served together as Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate.’ Determined to document Byrd’s place in American history, David Corbin has detailed the incredible career and accomplishments of the distinguished Senator from West Virginia by focusing on his encounters with the last eleven presidents. I hope this book will become a must read for people interested not only in Senator Byrd, but the U.S. Senate and the presidency. I thank David for putting this book together about my good friend and former colleague."
-- Sen. Howard Baker (R-TN), former Senate majority leader

"Sen. Robert C. Byrd was my predecessor as the majority leader of the U.S. Senate. When he cast his twelve thousandth vote in the Senate, I stated, ‘There are few honors greater than to be able to say that we served in the U.S. Senate with Robert Byrd.’ Now David Corbin has produced this much-needed account of Byrd’s life and career: how he embodied the Senate as an institution, how he was a powerful reminder to presidents and senators of the need to abide by the Constitution, and how he was a crucial part of American history for more than a half century. And he always remained so proud of his southern West Virginia roots. This is an important story that needed to be told, and David tells it so well."
-- Sen. George Mitchell (D-ME), former Senate majority leader

"Robert C. Byrd grew in stature remarkably over his six decades of political power. From his beginning as a self-described 'rustic boob from West Virginia,' he slowly rose to become the mighty ‘conscience of the Senate’—one of the few brave enough to oppose George W. Bush’s unnecessary Iraq invasion. I was Byrd’s first press secretary when he entered the Senate in 1959, and I watched him evolve. David Corbin does a superb job of telling this important American story."
-- James A. Haught, editor, Charleston (WV) Gazette